Dancing on the Edge
by A Wise Owl
Summary: The Asgardians left their burning homeland behind, and they are now stuck in the spaceship. What is Loki's position among them? Is he their prince? The king's brother? Their saviour? Or is he a threat? A traitor? A prisoner? No one seems to know and neither does Loki. It appears that the new king will have a final say on the matter. Will Thor follow his father's footsteps?
1. Chapter 1 - Insecurity

The coronation was over.

Thanks the Norns.

Loki was walking through the spaceship, trying to ignore the suspicious glances that the passers-by were giving him. They didn't trust him; he could see that. It all happened so fast, too fast, his disguise being revealed and then the destruction of his homeland.

And now, Loki wasn't sure what his place was. He decided to join the Asgardians. Not out of hope, mistake him not, but in mere refuge; for what else could he have done?

Asgard was destroyed and the rest eight worlds were all completely different in all but one – they all despised him. He knew he could not get to any of them for he would not be welcome there. The Void was out of question as Thanos was its infamous king and Loki would rather serve himself on a silver tray to the Midgardian idiots than meet that monster again.

And so he joined the Asgardians.

What his position was he was not sure.

He brought in the spaceship essential for the escape. They all saw that. They knew that without him, they would all burn with the rest of Asgard.

So was he a hero now?

Based on the looks they were giving him, he didn't feel like one.

Was he a prince?

His brother was crowned the king. It bothered Loki but less than he thought it would. He didn't want to dwell on it. So in essence, he should be the prince.

Was he a prisoner?

Even if his disposal of Odin on Midgard was overlooked in favour of his latest act of heroism and acknowledgement that he didn't execute people during his reign, his sentence probably still applied. _You'll spend the rest of your days in the dungeons._ But there were no dungeons anymore. Yet Odin made his will quite clear – he was to be confined and the sentence was never reversed. He just tricked his way out.

Would the new king try to reimpose his father's will?

Thor seemed glad to see him. The sentimental fool maybe hoped that they could be brothers again. Loki wasn't sure; he couldn't read Thor as well as he used to. All seemed to be the way it was always supposed to be; Thor was finally the king and Loki was also somewhat there, ready to help the God of Thunder if the need be.

As if the events of the last few years didn't even happen nor matter.

Except they did, and they left a permanent scar on his soul.

And the Asgardians were all watching him with even more distrust than before. He could see it in their eyes; they were all expecting him to turn them in at the nearest convenience.

Little did they know that Loki was out of options.

Sticking with them and his brother was probably his best chance at survival.

Loki was aimlessly wandering through the spaceship when he overheard his name.

Rendering himself invisible, he decided to listen to a conversation that seemed to be happening between a mother and her chid.

"Is he our prince though?" The child asked.

"I don't know, Bjorn. It depends on Thor." The mother answered.

"But he betrayed Asgard, didn't he? My friends in school said he was a dangerous traitor."

"He is. Be careful. Don't get close to him. Don't talk to him."

"I am scared." The boy mumbled.

"Don't be. He should be locked up. Maybe that's what Thor decides to do with him." The mother answered angrily.

"Do you think so?" The boy questioned with hope in his voice.

"I am not sure, darling. I think he would be locked up by now if he wasn't the king's brother." The mother let out a breath of disbelief.

"Do you think that Thor is blinded because Loki is his brother?" The boy asked after a moment.

"No. I don't think so. Thor has matured in many ways. He is ready to be the worthy successor of Odin. He sees through the Trickster. Don't worry, he will keep him in check."

Loki didn't want to listen to that conversation anymore and so he quietly distanced himself. It encompassed all his fears. He too noticed that Thor was much cleverer and more merciless now; he did leave him on Sakaar in the end.

Should he worry?

"Loki." His name was spoken aloud, and Loki rolled his eyes but did turn around.

"What is it, brother?" His voice didn't betray any emotions.

"Come to my cabin. We need to talk."


	2. Chapter 2 - Search

_"Come to my cabin. We need to talk."_

As soon as Loki closed the door of Thor's cabin, the newly appointed king began talking.

"You shouldn't be rendering yourself invisible to spy on our people." Thor said, eyeing Loki strictly.

Loki decided against asking how Thor was able to see him in his invisible state, mainly because he didn't want to admit neither to himself nor to his brother that Thor was able to get better at seeing through his tricks.

"I will not be ordered around as some kind of common dog." Loki countered.

Thor frowned. "I _asked_ you to come to my cabin."

"You commanded me to come here."

"There is no difference. Now you're here."

"There is all the difference in the universe, Thor."

"Loki, stop." Thor urged.

"Another command."

"Why do you twist my words?"

Loki blinked quickly. "I shouldn't be here." He said and turned to leave.

"Where do you think you are going?" Thor's hand shot to grab Loki's arm.

"What business of yours is it?" Loki hissed, becoming clearly agitated.

"Father's degree still applies. You are supposed to be in prison. I am responsible for you and your actions now."

"Funny, isn't it. You didn't seem particularly interested in keeping me within your proximity on Sakaar, have you." Loki's voice was filled with venom.

"I was not the king then. And I don't care for Sakaar. Were you to cause any mischief there, it wasn't my concern."

Loki sneaked out of Thor's touch.

"I see." Loki commented. "The corruptive side of power is taking its toll already."

Thor's face showed a quick confusion followed by a hurt expression.

"Loki." Thor pronounced his brother's name with extra care as his hands began to sparkle.

"What do you want, brother?" Loki spit the last word as if it was a cruel joke.

Thor hesitated for a second. "Look at us, Loki. We worked together so well to save Asgard. Why are we back to fighting so quickly?"

Loki gave a bitter, little laugh. "That's not an answer to my question."

"Maybe it could be."

"How do you expect me to have a conversation with you if you imply that its content will determine the extent of my future freedom?" Loki challenged.

"Loki."

"What do you want, Thor?" Loki stood his ground.

Thor answered. "Frankly, I want you by my side. But I want the real you, not the pretender you chose to disguise yourself in for the past years. If I cannot have the real you, my brother, I'd rather not have you around at all so that the reminder of what I lost would not be on my eyes every single day."

"What if the real me that you're talking about isn't available anymore? What would you try to do to the fake me?" Loki asked.

"Don't try to make some pre-battle negotiations out of this, Loki."

"Answer me."

"You also owe me an answer, brother." Thor would not back down.

"We are fighting again already because we cannot function like this. We cannot be together if we are not equal. And we can never be equal." Loki said. He was truthful but his eyes betrayed no sentiment.

"We were fighting already when we were equal before…" Thor began but Loki interrupted him.

"We were never equal. We both know it."

Thor weighted his next words carefully. "In my eyes, we are equal."

"I am afraid that is not enough for me." Loki replied.

"What would you have me do to change this?" Thor asked, his voice resigned but his tone not disclosing any will to give up his crown.

Loki looked Thor in the eye. "I haven't said it is your fault, Thor." Loki meant his words. "I am just saying that it will not work like this. It's this simple."

"Loki, I…"

"I answered your question. Now you answer mine." Loki said before Thor could formulate his thoughts.

"I don't know." Thor said finally. Loki looked at him suspiciously. "I truly don't know, Loki. I don't want to see you imprisoned again. I think that the past transgressions were dealt with. And this…ending of all that we have known feels like a fresh leaf, a new beginning. But some people are complaining about you on the board. They haven't forgiven you."

"I don't need their forgiveness."

"That's what I told them." Thor replied.

"What?"

"I said that they do not know the full extent of neither your crimes nor your punishments. It's not up to them to pronounce the judgement."

"Right. Because it is up to you. The king." Loki retorted sarcastically.

"No, brother." Thor said quietly. "It is up to you."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I said; past is past. I wished I could trust you. Can I? Can I trust you now?" Thor asked, his blue eyes shining with sincerity, but not hope.

Loki took a moment to answer. He wanted to lie, to be the witty, manipulative lie-smith that he was. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"No, Thor You can't."

"Why not?" Thor asked and for the first time in the whole discussion, an emotion was creeping into his voice.

"I can't do this. I wasn't born to be an advisor, a sidekick of a sort. I wish it was enough, but no matter how hard I try, I don't think it will ever be." Loki said.

"Do you want to leave and try to reclaim your rightful position as the King of Jotunheim?" Thor asked.

"No."

"Do you want to stay here?" Thor continued questioning.

"Yes." Loki replied. "But I can't. Not like this." His own words were causing him pain.

"Can't you let go of your damn pride just for once, Loki?" Thor asked genuinely.

"Could you?" Loki asked silently.

Thor took a step back.

"Loki." The Thunderer began finally. "Are you telling me the truth?"

Loki nodded.

"I might have a solution, brother." Thor said finally, his sight focused on his younger sibling.


End file.
